Potato variety American (Early rose)

American is one of the oldest early-maturing American potato varieties (Solanum tuberosum). It was bred back in 1861 in the United States by breeder Albert Brezi, who gave the new variety the official name Early rose. In Russia, this potato began to actively spread after the revolution, from the beginning of the 20s, in collective and state farms. Currently, it is grown mainly on personal household plots and in small farms. Differs in a very good, "reference" taste. Poor resistance to many nightshade diseases.

Let's make a little introduction. The American woman has been zoned since 1931 in the Orenburg, Voronezh, Kursk, Tomsk and Penza regions of the USSR, however, it was also very popular in other regions. Back in those days, he received the nickname "early ripening-loose". Now a lot of synonyms are known: Delicious, Dovzhik, Rozovka, Ruzhovka, Letishka, Monthly, Turk, Skorobezhka, Yanovka, Marynovka, Local dining room, Pisarevka, Early pink, Olkhovka, and also Early rose. Unfortunately, today only individual farms are engaged in the cultivation of this variety, so it is very difficult to get seed material. However, many enthusiastic gardeners keep these old potatoes on their plots, and are not going to give it up.

The period from full germination to harvest is 70-80 days.

The plant is tall, vigorous, moderately spreading, abundantly leafy. The stems are anthocyanin-colored. Leaves are medium in size, thin, slightly elongated, shiny, weak to medium dissection. The corolla of the variety is medium-sized, white, with an intense anthocyanin coloration. Very few berries are produced.

One nest can form 5-9 tubers with an average weight of 76-120 grams. They have an elongated oval shape, slightly flattened, often irregular, with characteristic tubercles. The peel is thin, smooth to the touch, light pink uneven color. In different parts of the tuber, the intensity of the pink color may vary, and sometimes even absent (such an area will be light beige). The flesh on the cut is white, sometimes with the presence of red-violet pigment. The eyes are small, numerous, colored in a brighter pink-violet color compared to the general background, due to which the tuber as a whole looks unevenly colored.

The yield is quite outstanding for such an "old man" - 250-420 c / ha. According to these indicators, our hero surpasses many other more modern early maturing varieties, for example Vineta, Bellarosa, Impala... However, it is worth noting that there are many negative reviews about the yield of the American. It should be said that the amount of this potato crop depends on many factors, which we will talk about a little later.

The taste of this variety is simply excellent! Despite all its shortcomings, as well as less and less distribution, gardeners continue to grow it because of its excellent taste. In cooking, tubers are versatile, suitable for preparing a wide variety of dishes. The pulp is crumbly, does not darken during heat treatment, so it looks very attractive when finished. The starch content in it is about 13.5-17.6%. By the way, the taste of our hero has been considered the standard for many years, moreover, these are not just empty words, but the real opinion of many potato growers from all over Russia and abroad.

Plants thrive best on sandy loam, loam and peaty soils.In such soils, they show the best yield without any special maintenance. By the way, in agricultural technology, our hero is very simple and does not require the creation of special growing conditions. With standard maintenance techniques, he is able to bring a large amount of crops and on unsuitable soils for him, in a wide variety of climatic conditions. It is also worth noting that the American woman calmly tolerates a drought, even a very long one. Another plus is that the seed can be cut, or just grow potatoes with eyes. But there is one "but" - because of the very poor resistance to diseases of the nightshade, plants need regular preventive measures and fight against the most common diseases. It is also extremely important to maintain crop rotation on the site.

The variety is susceptible to late blight in tops and tubers, cancer, moderately resistant to various viruses. It has normal resistance to common scab.

Despite this vulnerability, our hero has been very popular for a very long time. The main advantages are considered to be its excellent taste and high yield. Also, gardeners note excellent keeping quality (97%) - potatoes are stored for more than a year without losing their presentation and consumer qualities. Another plus, proven by the experience of more than one generation of potato growers, is resistance to degeneration. Seed material can not be replaced for over 20 years!

The disadvantages of the American woman include, first of all, susceptibility to diseases, as well as the dependence of the crop on weather conditions. Plants tolerate drought calmly, but cold snaps and heavy rains affect them badly. In any case, this variety has been tested by many years of experience in growing both on an industrial scale and in small household plots, so it is clearly worth having such an old representative of the culture in your garden!